1954's 15th
The Fabulous Fifteenth was all it was touted to be and more! For the 390 classmates, dates, wives, and children, it was a memorable occasion. Former friendships were renewed and undergraduate days recalled. Although the reunion must of necessity evoke memories of the past, the present was very much in evidence.
Constant reminders of the present throughout the weekend were the flocks of our children, attired in Dartmouth football jerseys with 54 numerals, dashing around campus from one activity to the next. The contemporary times were also stressed in a number of extremely worthwhile seminars and panel discussions.
Most of us arrived in Hanover in time tor the informal dinner at Leverone Field House Friday night. For Dave and DotFitch the trip from Greenfield, Mass., where Dave sells custom homes for Rugg Lumber Co., was a breeze. Similarly, Lew andNancy Milkey had clear sailing from Wellesley Hills, Mass. Lew was recently named assistant manager of the Paine, Webber, etc. office in Boston. For Phil and Susan Pendleton and children Kathy, Peter and Russell, the trip from Winter Park, Fla., was more lengthy.
The prize for the classmate traveling the furthest to reunion was shared by DickArmstrong of Palo Alto, Calif., and PeteSchenck of San Jose, Calif. Pete says he should win the award since he lives further from the airport than Dick. Unquestionably Pete must win the award for having the most number of children at this stage. Seven! No wonder wife Audrey couldn't make the trip. The baby sitters needed a sitter. When not otherwise occupied at the maternity ward, Pete works for IBM as a systems programming manager. Hospitals are also of great interest to Dick Armstrong. He is secretary-treasurer of Corbin-Farnsworth, Inc., a Palo Alto manufacturer of medical electronic equipment and a subsidiary of Smith Kline and French Laboratories.
A smashing good time was had by all in the class tent near Woodward Hall after dinner Friday night and on into the wee hours of the morning. Among those singing along with Skip Weymouth at the piano or renewing acquaintances in the less boisterous recesses of the tent were Al Staley,Rich Collins, Tom Tyler, Gus Wedell, TomHall, Bob Dean, Dune Roberts, and RickHartman.
Saturday morning dawned to match the spirits of the previous evening's celebrants: gray and wet. Fortunately there were more than enough activities which were weatherproof. The new swimming pool was open to all the children. Skip and Carol Gale were on hand to watch the aquatics of daughters Susan and Linda. Others were involved in games and races in the gym. There was no contest, however, when Kathy, the eleven- year-old daughter of Ron and Eileen Gold, competed. She recently became the 600-yard run-walk champion of the Junior Olympics in Ohio. Ron is president of Cleveland Coin International, distributors and exporters of coin operated equipment. Another fascinating indoor activity for young and old was the Kiewit Computer Center. Tom and Ginny McConnon were busy playing computerized football with sons Jim, Jack and Paul. Tom is eastern general manager of Imco Container Co., manufacturer of plastic bottles, and works in New York City. Tom and Chris Rood had a lot in common to talk over. Chris is a manufacturer's rep in plastics, operating out of Cincinnati, Ohio. No sooner had the rains gone when the tennis players were going full swing. Phil Cooke and Tom Scott were some of the class swingers.
One of the highlights of Saturday was our class meeting at which chairman BillWhite presented to President Dickey checks from the class treasury and the father of the late Bill Gmelin to enable the College to completely fund our Class Memorial Book Program. At the meeting, the new class executive committee was elected, headed by Tom Kelsey, President; BruceClasson, secretary; Dick Barker, treasurer; and Dave Metz, class agent. In the evening an excellent roast beef dinner was served in the handsome Hanover Inn dining room. After dinner Seaver Peters delivered a fine talk about the present status of Dartmouth athletics and campus activity.
Prior to dinner an outdoor cocktail party at the War Memorial Garden Court in Hopkins Center was a sellout. Among those partaking in the festivities were Bob Dean, Pete Dwight, Bob Flood, Dick Leary, Stearns Martin, Bill Norcross, Bob Price, Clark Murphy, Bob Osmond, Charlie Myserian, Aaron Margolis, and Ray Freud.
We all seemingly survived the rigors of the weekend, but if we hadn't there were plenty of doctors in the house. Driving in from Rochester were Dave and Pat Reed. Dave is an assistant professor at Rochester Med School and is hard at work promoting the establishment of a new specialty to be known as family medicine. Dan Weidenthal took time out from a busy Cleveland practice to attend reunion. Dan is one of the 25 or so specialists in the country today performing retinal detachment surgery of the eye. Also attending from Cleveland, but in a different area of operations, were Bayardand Sue Johnson and daughters Cam and Molly. Bayard is v.p. of finance for Beckett Aviation which sells, operates, and maintains executive airplanes.
The weekend concluded on a solemn note. Sunday morning in the Bema JonMoore conducted a beautiful memorial service in remembrance of our twenty-two classmates who have died since we entered Dartmouth some eighteen years ago.
No reporting of the weekend would be complete without a word of highest praise for reunion chairman Charlie Morrison and his tireless assistant Fran.
This is ,my last column as class secretary. I have certainly enjoyed writing the column and communicating with you these past four years. My special thanks go to my two best helpers: wife Maxine, my charming proofreader and loyal critic, and son Andy, my trusted pencil sharpener.
An organized program of sports and activities kept the 431 offspring of the Classesof '52, '53, and '54 busy and happy in spite of inclement weather.
RETIRING CLASS SECRETARY
